Sitting reading the Sunday paper I noticed an advert for The Sunday Times Social List. It appeared to be similar to Klout in the way it uses the most popular social networks that you use to to create a score for your influence on the social web. As with Klout, the more networks that you add, the more accurate a picture it can give you. So what the heck, I’m a curious kind of chap, I might see how sociable the Sunday Times think I am. After connecting up all the social networks currently on the site, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Four Square, it crunches through all the available data to give you a result. And what a pretty result too, a nice brightly coloured info-graphic. Turns out that I currently rank 6,203 out of 27,779 over all, but 6th out of my digital friends. Not bad for starters. Maybe if I work on my social skills a bit I can rise up the charts, but on reflection, is...

It’s now more important then ever that your sites work across many different devices, from smart-phones with screen as narrow as 240 pixels wide, to computer monitors that are 1920 pixels or larger. How do you achieve this nirvana of a design that works across all these different sized devices? You could create a different build for each device type, which would incur extra costs and an even longer time frame, or you could build one site using the responsive [adaptive] design techniques such as; fluid grids, flexible images, and media queries. Responsive design isn’t limited to layout changes. Media queries allow us to practice some incredibly precise fine-tuning as our pages reshape themselves: we can increase the target area on links for smaller screens, mobile versions and multiple columns. In theory, this allows the same web page to be served to devices with differing...

7up has refreshed their new branding, created by TracyLocke. It’s surprisingly simple, and I like it. Normally the logos and packaging for drinks end up becoming very intricate, but this shows class in it’s simplicity. The official line is that the branding “goes back to the core elements that define 7up: lemons, limes, bubbles and refreshment”. The new packaging designs look pretty nice too, with the bottles being my favourite. Let’s hope the final packaging that appears on the shelf looks as...

I’ve been using tumblr on and off since September 2008, but never really committed to the platform. Very sporadically I’d post things to my account, but then just forget about it. Over the last couple of months I’ve stared using my account in ernest. Why the sudden change? Because I’ve suddenly realised that, to me at least, it’s the perfect scrapbook. It’s become a way of me collecting together all the images that influence me, stuff that other people have created or captured that I find interesting. By using tumblr it allows me to keep all these images together, without filling up my hard drive and accessible from anywhere I have a net connection. It also serves as a visual diary, of where I was mind-wise. What initially appears to be a bunch of unrelated items serves to build a profile of my tastes. Whether this is a positive thing we have to wait...

Over two years in the making, with over 1000 contributors, Drupal 7 will be officially released on the 7th of January 2011. This is a big achievement and to celebrate the Drupal community are planning hundreds of launch parties in cities all around the World. All of us from i-KOS will be joining in with the celebrations at the London Launch party hosted by Microsoft. Tickets are free but limited, so register to get yours soon!

When I bought my iPad back in May, one of the self justifications I used was that it would be cheaper the replacing my old titanium Power Book – which had recently died. I couldn’t justify buying a new Mac Book Pro and the iPad was way cooler. The lack of physical keyboard didn’t hinder me as much as the lack of a stylus, but I’ve covered that elsewhere [Looking for an iPad Stylus?]. However roll on 7 months and with a lot more apps available, I’m using my iPad more and have started thinking I need a proper keyboard.With this need came the thought of either and Apple Bluetooth keyboard or their iPad Keyboard Dock. Neither of which I was enthused about. The dock looked too restrictive as the keyboard is physically joined to the dock and not very portable. So the separate bluetooth keyboard appeared to be the way forward. That was until I discovered...

While mooching around the sales I visited Muji and discovered this little delight. Although not strictly designed for wireframe sketching it’s perfect for those initial quick scamps. The 4 boxes on each page are just the right proportions to scamp out ideas without getting bogged down with details. Each pad has 40 pages and measures 82mm x 185mm, ideal to keep in your pocket for those impromptu sketching sessions. The paper quality is great, although it’s not bleed proof so be careful with those Sharpies [a little tip is to place a sheet of grease proof paper, tracing paper or good old brown paper under the sheet you're using to avoid bleed through]. With only room for 160 page scamps you might find yourself getting through more then one pad per site and at £1.25 each that could soon start adding up. However, if you’re like me and keep printing out A4 sheets to sketch...

The Mo, slang for moustache, and November come together each year for Movember. This year I’ve decided to donate my face to a worthy cause and join in with the fund raising and awareness campaign. Movember challenges men to change their appearance and the face of men’s health by growing a moustache. The rules are simple, start Movember 1st clean shaven and then grow a moustache for the entire month. The moustache becomes the ribbon for men’s health, the means by which awareness and funds are raised for cancers that affect men. Much like the commitment to run or walk for charity, the men of Movember commit to growing a moustache for 30 days. Now this mustache is not comfortable, it’s irritating, but can no way be compared to what some men have to endear suffering with prostate cancer. So, please help me raise funds through Movember’s UK campaign to benefit the The...